Product Details

• Actors: Seth Rogen
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0014E29UA
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,955 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The latest bro-mance from team Apatow (the guys who brought us Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Pineapple Express is the story of Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) and Saul Silver (James Franco), a pothead and his dealer who accidently get caught up in a drug war between two gangs with some corrupt cops, high-school girls and small-time henchmen thrown in for good measure. At its core, Pineapple Express is a stoner comedy--a tale of two semi-slow giggling and loveable idiots in way over their heads--this formula has made for some entertaining comedy over the years, Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke and Dave Chappell's Half Baked being two of the best examples. What sets Pineapple Express apart from these silly classics however, is the consistency of the humor, the perfect chemistry between Rogan and Franco and the giddily ridiculous action sequences (and the fact that even mild intoxication is not required to enjoy the humor). The movie retains the sweetness that is present in most of Apatow's films, making the characters’ poor choices and ultra-violent actions somehow justifiable, or at least relatable. The site gags, pop-culture references and perfectly timed non-sequiturs only enhance the hilarity. Director David Gordon Green, known mostly for the understated and reflective films George Washington and All the Real Girls, seemed like an odd choice for such a raucous and over-the-top comedy, but it turns out Green's stamp is all over this film (as is his long-time cinematographer, Tim Orr) who together manage to turn Pineapple Express into much more than the sum of its parts. --Kira Canny

Stills from Pineapple Express (click for larger image)

Product Description

A new comedy from the creative genius of Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Talladega Nights) follows a pair of druggie losers as they reach the top of the hit-list when one witnesses a mob murder and drags his buddy into a crazy flight from mobsters bent on silencing both of them permanently. The film stars new sensation Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin) and James Franco (Spider-Man 1-3) and it co-stars Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing) and Gary Cole (The Brady Bunch Movie). Movie is directed by David Gordon Green.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably fun and well-crafted. , August 7, 2008

By	RMurray847 "afilmcritic.com" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A movie like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS should not be expected to be talked about in the same breath as CITIZEN KANE or GONE WITH THE WIND. However, it has nonetheless ascended to near the top ranks in its own particularly little sub-genre: the "pot" comedy.

While Cheech & Chong's UP IN SMOKE will probably always lead the pack, simply for being the first (and for being very edgy...in it's day)...EXPRESS is the first film of its ilk to boast huge laughs, modest thrills, enjoyable lead characters and a narrative structure that doesn't fall apart the further it goes. For example, the HAROLD AND KUMAR films can be greatly amusing, but their "plot" grows more and more flaccid and pointless as they move along. The lead "characters" are hardly believable as people...they are comic devices.

In PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, we have the story of a process server (Seth Rogan) who enjoys doing little else but smoking pot. He is decent at his job, but also spends much of it sitting in his car smoking. He's dating a high school girl who would have been seriously out of his league when HE was in school. His "best friend" may just be his pot dealer (James Franco.) And through an unfortunate circumstance, Rogan witnesses the murder of an Asian drug dealer by the leader (Gary Cole) of the other drug ring in his city. The murder is aided by a policewoman (Rosie Perez), who is also a pretty vicious killer. They get wise to who their witness is when Rogan makes the mistake of tossing his half-smoked joint out the window of his car as he hurriedly drives away. You see, the joint is made of a new weed called Pineapple Express, which thus far has been sold only to one drug middleman (Danny McBride), who has only sold it to one of his dealers...Franco. Thus, almost immediately, Rogan and Franco are on the run for their lives. Eventually they will have to beat these violent men at their own game just to survive.

That's about it for the basics of the plot...but what is nice about it is the way it holds together from beginning to end. The characters go through a journey and they change and grow a little. While the dialogue and humor are important, this is one "pot" movie where the plot is actually important to the film, not just an excuse to make "I'm so stoned" jokes.

Rogan is basically playing his character from KNOCKED UP again...but if you need that sort of character, he's got it down cold. He's a nice loser who actually looks like a real life person. Danny McBride joins this group of losers midway through, and he brings a nice jolt of almost absurdist humor the film. He's like Rasputin mixed with the character Terry on RENO 911 (you know, the "male prostitute" on roller skates). Gary Cole and Perez are a little too generic, and frankly, the bad guys in the film are not well-sketched out. Their behavior is inconsistent and not always credible.

James Franco steals the film, though. He was born to play this role. In movies as varied as SPIDERMAN and FLYBOYS...he often is unsuccessful at playing a button up, "serious" types. He's better when allowed to let his slacker show through. In FREAKS AND GEEKS, he was a stoner heartthrob, who discovered he had deep reserves of loyalty and love. In PINEAPPLE, he's a stoner with very little to offer, but who has a simplicity and openness about him that makes him likeable. Yes, it's the pot that has made him this way...but Franco refuses for settle for a simple caricature. His stoned but winning eyes & smile are the heart of this film.

The humor is certainly R-rated. Lots of "f" bombs. A fair amount of violence near the end too. It's crass and loud at times. Sometimes the jokes are obvious and unoriginal. But mostly it is sustained by moments of real feeling (as we see so often in films with the name Apatow stamped on them), likeable characters and a plot that has a beginning, middle & end.

Now, finally, let me comment on the "drug" elements. I don't use drugs. Even in my days of "youthful indiscretion" I was not a dabbler. I would certainly be what anyone would call "conservative" on this particular issue. So therefore, I might tend to take offense at such "glorification" of drugs. But I'm not sure that the film does that. True, it pretty much assumes that the entire world does drugs. But it also shows, quite clearly and without preaching, that the use of these drugs, while inducing pleasurable feelings, also induces stupid decision making, slothfulness and wastefulness. Clearly, it sides with those who would make pot legal...but it doesn't disdain those who oppose this. It simply IS. I can't imagine this film would make anyone change their behavior. Those who use pot regularly already are likely to smile in recognition at much of the behavior. Those who don't use it will NOT be inspired to give it a try. So while I'm not thrilled at a film that is clouded 90% of the time with pot fumes...I can't get upset about it either.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Proof that James Franco can actually act, August 9, 2008

By	Monkdude (Hampton, Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This was another in a long line of funny movies from Judd Apatow, but with a lot more action thrown in for good measure. Seth Rogen may always sound and act the same in everything he does, but that doesn't make him any less funny. James Franco is the real star of the show. I always thought he had great potential, but he just seemed so bland in the Spider-Man movies and Flyboys. This is a well acted and funny performance. I heard some people on the web talk about casting him as The Joker in the next Batman movie. Whether it happens or not, I now think he has a chance to pull it off. All the other cast members are weirdly memorable, especially the cat loving drug dealer who just won't die.

Pineapple Express does get really violent and a little gory towards the end, but it is a good mix of comedy and action. It's just plain fun.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Loopy Stoner Comedy Hijinks and Quentin Tarantino-Level Action Make for a Guy-Friendly Free-for-All , August 10, 2008

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Co-written by star Seth Rogen and his partner Evan Goldberg, the ramshackle dialogue is familiar from any of the comedies from the Judd Apatow factory. The funniest bits are the throwaway lines delivered by Rogen as Dale Denton, a carefree process server who smokes reefer all day, dreams of being a radio talk-show host, and has a relationship with a high school girl named Angie. The movie's title refers to the new and powerful weed strain that Dale buys from a sweet-natured, likeably loopy dealer named Saul Silver. Both are quickly on the lam after Dale witnesses a grisly murder at the hands of criminal drug lord Ted Jones and his corrupt cop lover Carol. They try to elicit help from Saul's shifty but hilariously obtuse friend Red, but he rats on them to a pair of hit-men who are in hot pursuit of the comic pair.

I have to admit that the film starts rather unpromisingly as a stoner comedy with a somewhat unsavory element in the romance Dale has with his underaged girlfriend. However, it picks up considerable comedy steam when Dale and Saul become paranoid as much from their excessive smoking as their on-the-run situation. Director David Gordon Green, a filmmaker known more for his indie work like George Washington, also brings a refreshing human element to key moments within the escalating shenanigans, especially when the bond between Dale and Saul becomes hilariously intractable. It also becomes clear that Dale's relationship with Angie is based on his emotional immaturity versus a Lolita complex.

As Dale, the schlubby Rogen is really doing nothing different here than he did in Knocked Up, though his baseline character's object of affection has shifted discernibly from a beautiful entertainment reporter to a dealer and his doobies. An actor etched in my memory for his startling turn as James Dean in the 2002 telepic, a stringy-haired James Franco manages to be funny and intriguingly poignant in an off-kilter way. The scene stealers, however, turn out to be Danny McBride (the suspicious brother in last year's The Heartbreak Kid), who survives every action-thriller cliché imaginable, and Craig Robinson (the hilariously observant nightclub bouncer in Knocked Up) as the overly sensitive hit-man Matheson. Left far to the sidelines are Gary Cole not nearly interesting enough as Jones and a strangely cast Rosie Perez acting quite butch as Carol.

Ed Begley, Jr., has a funny bit as Angie's beleaguered dad, and Ken Jeong (the obnoxious ob-gyn in Knocked Up) shows up as one of the ninjas from the Asian crime syndicate. Overlong at 110 minutes, the movie shifts gears into Quentin Tarantino territory during the last third - first with a predictably wild car chase scene and then the particularly over-the-top mayhem at the grow house where the Pineapple Express is harvested. As a silly overture, the opening black-and-white scene, set seventy years prior, has Bill Hader as a soldier smoking copious amounts of marijuana to test his mettle, but make no mistake that this is at heart a stoner buddy film, a point made clear by the film's hangover scene in the diner. There's a lot of funny stuff in this film, and much of it is well-played, but the audience is clearly pre-determined by the subject. If you are repelled by the thought of watching guys getting high for nearly two hours, then I say just skip it.